Keeping a post pinned here to liveblog free agency as it pertains to the Minnesota Vikings, with particular attention paid to positions of need (most of them).

Feel free to comment on your reactions. Each individual Vikings signing will also have its own post as the time comes.

The rumors around the league are flying before free agency starts, and with backup quarterback Matt Cassel signed, the most obvious positions of need that free agency is well-equipped at addressing are becoming hot commodities to talk about.

The premier cornerback in free agency seems to be Titans cornerback Alterraun Verner, who had an excellent season last year, and has been a very good player since his introduction to the league from UCLA in 2010. In fact, in the last four years, Verner ranks 18th in adjusted yards per attempt given up of all cornerbacks who have had 1000 snaps in that period, and 12th of all CBs who have had 2000 snaps. In the more instructive, yet still flawed, yards-per-attempt given up metric, Verner ranks 7th and 5th of the two groups of CBs.

It remains, no matter how it is sliced, that Verner has been very good on film and in the box score, and his reputation as a physical, hard-nosed corner who helps in the run game can only help him. Given that he’s spent some time (successfully) defending the slot position, his value only increases.

It’s hardly a surprise, but the Minnesota Vikings are interested in him.

The Minnesota Vikings have decided to once again carry linebacker Jasper Brinkley on their roster, a linebacker they drafted in 2009. The one-year contract (no numbers are out yet) seems to signal a prove-it deal, and might represent Brinkley’s last shot in the NFL.

In his rookie year, he saw limited duty as a reserve, then as a starter after E.J. Henderson went down. He had a pretty good game against Carolina in that time, but was largely absent from the field. In 2010, he only played in 18 snaps, and he missed all of 2011 with a hip injury. After returning from injured reserve, hopes were high for Brinkley as Vikings fans hoped he could replace E.J. Henderson, who had a poor 2011 due to swelling in his repaired femur and was not re-signed for the 2012 season.

Unfortunately, Brinkley lived up to his scouting report as a linebacker poor in coverage and graded out to have some of the worst coverage in the NFL among inside linebackers, while his performance as a run defender was merely adequate. After that one year as a starter, the Vikings moved on, and Brinkley signed with the Arizona Cardinals as an ILB while Daryl Washington served out a four-game suspension and Kevin Minter developed as a rookie.

Brinkley was relegated to depth when Washington returned and cut recently by Arizona. Brinkley always had a reputation as a run-stuffing linebacker without much  ability in the passing game, and he retained that reputation throughout his early play in Arizona. While he did far better there in his 200 snaps than he ever did in Arizona, Todd Bowles demanded more from his linebackers, especially at a position of strength.

The Vikings bringing Brinkley in just means that they’ll have more depth at a position of weakness as they approach camp; there’s little chance, that Brinkley will be the starter in 2014, unless Zimmer determines that Brinkley wins the camp battles.

Should Brinkley play in 2014 like he did in 2013, he would actually be very good depth as a two-down linebacker, but not much more than that. If his true talent is closer to his 2012 film, then there’s little reason he should stay on the roster throughout training camp. Either way, don’t expect the Vikings to use this as the answer at middle linebacker.

The Minnesota Vikings have inked their current defensive end Everson Griffen to a new, “huge,” 5-year deal according to Ian Rapaport.

DE Everson Griffen is re-signing with the Vikings on a huge 5-year deal, per source

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 9, 2014

The 5-year contract for #Vikings DE Everson Griffen is for $42.5M with $20 guaranteed. Pass-rushers are getting paid, too, along with CBs

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 9, 2014

This is obviously enormously good news for Everson Griffen, and I think it should be said good news for the Minnesota Vikings. Despite the fact that the contract might be large, the Vikings may have gotten away with a lot in signing Griffen to a relatively long-term deal, with a high guaranteed salary and an average of $8.5 million.

With this signing, a few dominoes fall, as well. This makes it massively unlikely that the Vikings pursue or sign Bengals defensive end Michael Johnson, and also resolves some of the issues with the 2014 NFL draft, pushing defensive end further down the needs chart.

The bigger story is what this means for Griffen, both on and off the field.